Writing Craft - Newsletter
|
|
Rx for Writers |
September 6
Happy
Labor Day to all of you. I hope you have a very fine holiday weekend,
although those of you in Earl’s vicinity may be looking at less than ‘holiday
weather’. I’m launching in my Very Small Plane to fly from Oregon to
Wisconsin where my son lives. That is a long flight in a rather slow plane,
(my son can go faster in his Mustang) so I’ll be ‘on the road’ (or rather in
the air above it) for a good 2 ½ days each way, if the weather cooperates. I’ll
be checking in, but if you email me and get silence, be patient!
I hope you all have lots of ‘most prolific writer’ tallies for me! This year, I’m going to feature my fiction and nonfiction winners in the Web Editor Pick section of the Newsletter and ask our prolific writers for 09-10 to tell us what has helped them be prolific. And they’ll get a prize. Send in your tallies. I just need numbers for now, but of course, I’ll ask my winners to list the publishers they submitted to, just as a cross-check to make sure that everybody’s tally is accurate. Send me your tallies at MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com and if you didn’t start keeping track until later in the year, you may still have a pretty impressive record. I will publish everybody’s name and numbers so you all get the applause you deserve. Go ahead, boast about the fact you actually sent work out this year and stand up to take a bow! I will send you a ‘got it’ but be patient. From Sept 6 -17 I will be unpredictably out of reach of a computer. Give me several days please before you resend. You have until September 30 to turn in your numbers.
-- Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor
Remember: if you click on the index items below you will immediately skip to that section. Click on your 'back' button to return to the index. Happy navigating!
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
APPLAUSE! Keep up the
good work!
GRADUATE and NEWBIE NEWS: Stephanie
Humphreys –Learning from the experience!
SPOTLIGHT ON – Personal Narrative: Home Movies Not!
PROFESSIONAL CONNECTION GUEST:
Judith Glad of Uncial Press: Ebook publishing today.
DONNA IPPOLITO ANSWER OF THE WEEK – What
about those exclamation points?
FORUM – Open Questions
THE IDEA PROMPT The NEW Prompt.
THE WEBEDITOR'S PICK– Flash Fiction Flash Newsletter.
POTPOURRI– Janet offers us a…are you ready for this?....horror comedy anthology and an additional horror market. Where DID you find this one, Janet? Great!
THE WANT ADS and FOR SALE: Pen
It! Magazine…for writers. Writing and Spirit: Retreat for the Creative
Soul A New Hampshire writing retreat with writer and LR instructor
Phyllis Ring
REVIEWS AND TIPS: It was the
best of sentences, it was the worst of sentences Subtitle: a
writer's guide to crafting killer sentences
By June Casagrande reviewed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson.
LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?
Article Index by Topic
Need help with characterization? You're faced with a query letter and you
don't have a clue?
Now you can find what you need with a click of your mouse. (And if you haven't
been using the articles on the website, you're missing some good information at
a very good price -- like free!) Visit the article index and choose your
topic at the top of the page...Christian and Inspirational Fiction? click
Plotting? Romance? click No need to scroll through our ever-expanding
list of articles. Take a look and click on those helpful articles.
APPLAUSE!!!
Don't forget to tell us when you get a yes or a no from the publisher. We'll
cheer you either way! Send news of your sales, your rejections, and of course,
links to that new book, story, or article to MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com
And remember to keep a log of your submissions so that you can compete for Most
Persistent Writer this year!
Most Persistent Writer Award Rules: Keep a log of all your submissions; the date you sent it off, the name of the market. Keep your fiction submissions separate from your nonfiction submissions. On August 31, 2010 count up your submissions sent out between September 1, 2009 and August 30, 2010. I don't want the number of acceptances, I want the number of submissions you sent out. Send me that number. It's that simple! I'll ask to see the logs of the winners, but you'll find that log is very useful for you, as well. Our Most Persistent Writer -- the one who has simply gotten the most stories or articles into the mail -- wins a prize. I will offer a separate Nonfiction and a Fiction award so don't forget to keep your fiction and nonfiction submission lists separate. Yes, contest submissions count, yes, Non Fiction query letters count as well as complete submissions, yes, novel query letters to agents or editors count, no, poetry submissions do not count. The prompts here do not count, but any review you send me does. No, Nano drafts don't count either, unless you actually submit it to a publisher. And yes, if you get a rejection and send that piece to another publisher, that is indeed another submission. So if you send something to five publishers and get five rejections, you still have five submissions. Oh yes…previous winners are not eligible to enter in the category they won in. We know you’re persistent!
_____________________
Some publishing news to crow about. Falling Star Magazine will publish the first fiction piece I wrote ("Mission Accomplished") while enrolled at Long Ridge in 2008. He wrote this amazing acceptance letter: It is with great pleasure I get to write and inform you that your work 'Mission Accomplished' has been selected for publication in the upcoming issue of Falling Star Magazine. I love this piece. In fact, I think it's my favorite one in the book - and there's some good stuff in here this time around. 'Mission' displays all the qualities we look for - an excellent description of time, place, character and setting, especially motivation and gives us an excellent ending to sink our teeth into. I think almost anyone regardless of generation or background will relate. - Matt McGee, Editor Falling Star Magazine As well, a nonfiction piece written for Long Ridge ("Getting Your Glam On") appears in The Ultimate Writer and its slightly altered version titled "Getting Your Hump On" is up online in Clockwise Cat - issue #18. Two short speculative fiction pieces will appear in Daily Flash: 365 Days of Flash Fiction Anthology this year. With these acceptances my credits now stand at twenty-three. It's been slow going finding the right editor, right magazine, for the right piece, but it feels like I'm finally starting to hit my stride.—Wanda Wanda that’s GREAT. And folks, she is an excellent example of persistence….getting your work out and out and out again to slowly rack up those ‘credits’. Way to go, girl!
I just thought I'd let you know that I really finished my first novel: "Race Against the Darkness"last January, let it sit for about 4 months, then revised it about 4 times . Now I am searching for an agent, and I received my first rejection email from the Nelson Agency. The best part is that it didn't hurt! I printed it out and am proudly passing it around. A couple years back I am proud to say I hit over a hundred rejection letters since taking my courses at Longridge. But I was also published 8 times in Military Magazine, Nursing Spectrum,Going Bonkers Magazine, and the defunct Necrology ezine (which has returned as a monthly Anthology this year). It would have been 9 times, but one was killed in favor of another. So that is why rejection doesn't hurt, because there is always hope. So while I ship out my novel, I am busy planning novel number two that I hope will take less time than 4 years. –Laura Ah, Laura another great example of persistence paying off. And good on you girl for getting that novel finished! Keep up posted and good luck with it. You’re doing all the right things.
Great news, even if we don’t have a lot. I know…it’s the last gasp of vacation
season! But I always want more! Send YOUR news to me
at: MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com
NEWBIES, GRADUATES, AND FIRST STEPS; Stephanie Humphreys
I graduated from the "Basics of Writing Short
Stories and Articles for Publication" course in 2003. Even though I
haven't had much success in the magazine market, I discovered that I do
much better with longer fiction. I just wanted to let you know that I
published my first novel
this month. The book is called Finding Rose and is available on Amazon.com.
It has been an exciting experience and I learn something new about the process
and the market everyday. The other day I started thinking about the
journey and realized how grateful I am to the Long Ridge Group. When I
started the course, I hardly had the confidence to finish the first assignment,
but with the encouragement of my instructor, I realized I could do it.
Now I am busy all the time writing and revising. I also have established
two critique groups, one for adults and one for teens, to help other
writers find their confidence and to share the things I have learned over
the years. Just wanted to let you know my news and pass on my
appreciation of Long Ridge's great program. http://stephaniehumphreys.net/
Oh, Stephanie, I’m so glad
that Long Ridge worked for you. Sounds as if you have grown a lot here. And
good for you for establishing those critique groups! Keep us posted about
your doings!
I always need more news! Are you new to Long Ridge? Waiting for that Assignment One to come back? Are you getting near the end of the course, looking to writing beyond Long Ridge assignments? Say hi and tell us what you’re doing, where you’d like to go. What did you want to write when you started and what were your writing goals when you finished? The same? Different? You can send me the answer to that question or your news as new LR student or graduate at: MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com Some people are getting emails to me at this address bounced back. I’m not sure why it’s happening – it’s only afflicting a handful of people. But if yours comes back, you can also email me at; LongRidgeWebEditor@LongRidgeWritersGroup.com
SPOTLIGHT: Personal Narrative: Home Movie Not!
You’ve vacationed this summer, you’ve survived working with kids at home, you’ve lived through another summer and you have experiences to share. The personal narrative – telling a real story – is a great way to break into the nonfiction marketplace. But what keeps that account of your vacation from boring readers the Uncle Homer bores family members with this interminable movies of family picnics? For some help with how to make your personal experience something that lots of others want to share, check out Personal Narrative: Home Movie Not! in Writing Craft: Nonfiction.
PROFESSIONAL CONNECTION POST A
NOTE CONVERSATION
Ebooks are here. I love my Nook, people love their Kindle, and did you realize just how many less expensive ebook readers are out there? My Barnes and Noble contact tells me they’re selling a lot of Nooks in spite of the economy. And how cool to lug an entire library in the palm of your hand…without calling your chiropractor afterward! Judith Glad of Uncial Press has been publishing ebooks for several years now and is very active in the ebook publishing world. We’ll talk to her about all those things you need to know before you decide to publish your novel as an ebook. What formats work best? How well do they really sell right now, as opposed to later on? What readers are out there? Start saving your questions! Judith is a great person, very helpful, and she’ll be a wonderful guest. Mark your calendar for the week of September 27 through October 1!
Note: Because of a nasty spam attack, all new members must be checked out and approved before they can gain ‘member’ status, and guests can no longer post. I apologize in advance for the inconvenience. When you register, you should receive your approval within 24 hours. If you see strange or illegible posts, do please report them or email me at: MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com
Every Monday, look for the Forum topic near the top of the page on the Post a Note board. Now you have all week to ask questions and get answers, no matter what your work schedule is like or what time zone you live in! Drop in and pick up the conversation. Don’t be shy, ask a question. No question is too basic! We have everybody from raw beginners to breaking-in folk on this website and everything is good.
THIS WEEK’S FORUM: Open Question Week
Well, I’ll be on and off the board from now until I get back here – you can’t do the internet seven thousand feet in the air…at last not well -- so until I have both feet on the ground in Oregon once more, we’ll do an Open Question stretch on the Post a Note.
Al Forums take place on the Post a Note Board
Because of some nasty spam attacks, all new Post a Note registrations must be approved by me, so expect a brief delay after you create your user name before you can actually use the board.
Check the Calendar Page and this newsletter for current topics.
Writing tips from Donna Ippolito, Long Ridge instructor.
Donna Ippolito has been writing, editing, and teaching others to write for more than 20 years. From 1985 to 2001, she was editor-in-chief at FASA Corporation, a Chicago publisher that packaged best-selling science fiction and fantasy novel lines for Penguin Books and Time-Warner. These included the popular BattleTech, Shadowrun, Earthdawn, and Vor series. So check out her websites at www.expert-editor.com and http://dreamscoop.blogspot.com/.
Prior to that, Ms. Ippolito was an editor at the Swallow Press, a prestigious publisher of both literary and commercial titles. Writers published by Swallow include celebrated novelist Anaïs Nin; Jungian analyst Linda Leonard; futurist Robert Theobald; Zen poet Lucien Stryk; and distinguished anthropologist W. Y. Evans-Wentz. She also worked as a senior editor for Consumer Digest Magazine and was a founding editor of Black Maria, a quarterly journal of women’s writing.
Ricardo asks: I like exclamation marks and capital letters to make a point or to stress the obvious in my writing, but one reader said it sounds hysterical and exaggerated. Any thoughts?
Donna writes: F. Scott Fitzgerald said that an exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke, so maybe that’s what your reader was trying to say. Using punctuation for emotion might seem like a handy shortcut, but it’s really telling rather than showing. The same goes for doubled (!!) or tripled marks (!!!) and combos like "!?" or"?!" To convey excitement, surprise, urgency, pain, or fear, a writer needs to show the character in action instead.
Let’s say you’re tempted to write Jim’s dialogue as Oh, Jane!! I’m SO glad you’re here!! As the creator, it’s easy for you to see and feel Jim’s surprise and delight, but to the reader the line is like something out of a comic book. Instead, try using “beats” (action tags) to show the emotions through action. For example:
Jim rushed in, almost tripping over the cat. “Jane, I’m so glad you’re here.”
Jim jumped to his feet and grinned. “Jane, I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Jane. I’m so glad you’re here,” Jim said, pushing past the guy she was talking to.
Many of us pepper our emails, notes, and other informal writing with exclamation marks, but when writing for publication, we use a different standard. To break the habit, try fasting from exclamation points for a week, two weeks, even a month or more. Every time you’re tempted to use one, stop and consider how you might reveal the character’s emotions through an image, a tone of voice, a thought, a gesture, or a facial expression. It may take more time, more thought, more trial and error, but that is the road to writing well.
Do you have a question that you’d like Donna to answer? Here's your chance to ask her something. Email your question about all things writing to me and I'll pass it on so that she can answer it in the next Newsletter issue. You can mail your question to me
at: MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com
Some people are getting emails to me at this address bounced back. I’m not sure why it’s happening – it’s only afflicting a handful of people. But if yours comes back, you can also email me at; LongRidgeWebEditor@LongRidgeWritersGroup.com
SEPTEMBER PROMPT:
Okay, we need a new prompt, don’t we? Summer is winding down, schools are back in session, gee, makes me think of leaf raking and harvest time…..
Too bad. Let’s do something that has nothing to do with the season, shall we? I think you all could use a little first person practice. First person narrative voice is hard to do. Let me start you off here and you take it from there. You have up to 500 words for this, I do prefer a story arc rather than an open ended scene where we have no clue as to what is going on. Good prose skills matter. Work on ‘show don’t tell’ in first person. Really cultivate that strong voice. I’ve given you nearly a blank slate with this character.
Send it to me by Friday, September 17 at MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com The usual rules apply: In the body of the email only. Five hundred words. You will get a got it when I get it, but give me a couple of days before you resend. I’ll be away from the internet at times.
So here’s your start. Are you ready? (And no, it does not count as part of your 500 words).
I headed for the park. I do that, this time of year. All the kiddies are back in school, so it’s just me and the squirrels and the occasional drunk snoring under the morning’s news. I cut through the old rhododendrons along Thirty-Ninth and headed for the pond. They drained it last year. Too much duck poop or mosquitoes or something. The city looking out for us, I guess. As I came down the path to where there used to be water…
THE WEBEDITOR’S
PICK – Flash Fiction Flash Newsletter
Pam Casto has been doing the Flash Fiction Flash Newsletter for a long time now. A passionate devotee of flash fiction – stories shorter than 1000 words – she offers paying and non-paying markets, articles on flash, as well as notices about workshops. Flash fiction is a wonderful way to hone your strong-prose skills as well as your storytelling skills. You really have to focus on what is important in a story to create something that satisfies a reader in 1000 words or less. The early Long Ridge assignments are perfect for the flash markets and they take both fiction and non. Pam’s newsletter is a Yahoo newsletter and you must subscribe in order to read it. She does ask that people like myself do not paost from it, and I respect her request. You’ll find her flash fiction blog at http://flashfictionblog.blogspot.com/
This month’s newsletter includes:
* Flash Literature Markets (Paying)
* Flash Literature Contests
* Flash Literature Contests Still Open From Last Newsletter
* Flash Literature Publishing News
* Articles & Interviews On Flash Fiction Writing
* How to Send Your Flash Fiction/ Flash Literature News
To subscribe, send a blank subject header email to FlashFictionFlash-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com. If you'd like to link on your blog, feel free to link tohttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/FlashFictionFlash.
I highly recommend it!
Janet Hartman writes both nonfiction and flash fiction, and currently serves as president of Carteret Writers. Her articles about boating, life on the East Coast, and writing have appeared in national magazines, anthologies, and online. For more about Janet, see http://www.JanetHartman.net. Her weekly Potpourri is eclectic – it may include information about a contest, interesting web site, publisher or market.
**************
JANET HARTMAN’S POTPOURRI
Janet Hartman writes both nonfiction and flash fiction, and currently serves on the board of Carteret Writers. Her articles about boating, life on the East Coast, and writing have appeared in national magazines, anthologies, and online. For more about Janet, see http://www.JanetHartman.net. Her weekly Potpourri is eclectic – it may include information about a contest, interesting web site, publisher or market.
Can you tell Halloween is coming? I have three horror anthologies for you this week, each with its own twist. I love submitting to anthologies. With contests, we typically must place first, second, or third. With anthologies we have so many more chances to be accepted.
GROANOLOGY 2: MONSTERS, MADNESS, AND MAYHEM
Deadline: September 30, 2010
Word count: 1,200 to 3,200
Payment is one cent per word and one contributor copy.
No reprints.
The editors of this horror/comedy anthology say, "Send us your neurotic nightmares, your Freudian fiends, your tortured soulless souls. We want to read about the heartache, the headache, and most of all that pain in your funny bone that occur when monsters are plagued with psychiatric illnesses …Don't feel limited to depression and anxiety…We'd like to see some submissions that really go whole-hog (like you’d expect from a zombie pig with delusions of grandeur…you know, just for example)." Submit via e-mail. Here's a list of psychiatric disorders to get you started: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mental_disorders_as_defined_by_the_DSM_and_ICD
GRAND MAL PRESS
http://grandmalpress.com/
http://grandmalpress.com/submissions.php
This new publisher seeks submissions for two horror anthologies.
For their Alien Horror Anthology, submit short horror stories involving aliens and beings from other worlds.
For the Hard-Boiled Horror Anthology, send quality detective stories with a horror slant.
The following details apply to both anthologies:
Deadline: October 1, 2000
Payment: $25 via PayPal and a contributor copy of the book.
Word count: 3,000 to 5,000 words
Tales may be set in any location.
Pen It! Magazine started in January 2010. It is a
quality magazine (much like a periodical) focusing on writers/readers and
anyone who
enjoys the written word. There are regular columnists from throughout the
United States: Arizona, Missouri, Florida, New York, etc. Pen It!
offers a little bit of something for everyone, including tips on writing, book
reviews, recipe of the month, Poetry corner, and much, much more. Debi
Hurt, owner/editor started Pen It! Magazine after finding that there were few
quality local magazines geared toward
writers.
You can order your copy direct from Debi by emailing her at tebihurt@netzero.com . Pen It! Is
$6.95 per copy plus $2.00 postage and
handling. A 12 month (12 issue) subscription to Pen It! Is $45.00 and there
are plenty of opportunities to advertise, as well. You can visit
Pen It! on the web at www.penitmagazine.com and also find an Ebook version
on www.Ebooks-Online.com.
Thanks so much
Debi Hurt
__________________________________________
Writing and Spirit: Retreat for the Creative Soul
Thursday, Oct. 7- Sunday, Oct. 10
Lake Shore Farm, Northwood, New Hampshire
The partnership between our inner life and our creative expression benefits
immeasurably when we offer it the gifts of time and retreat.
Steeped in a pleasing natural setting, these minimally structured days offer
creating souls lots of time with their work while immersed in New England's
autumn beauty and the companionship of others devoting time and focus to
creative efforts. Participants are encouraged to bring work-in-progress, or
projects they wish to initiate.
Facilitator Phyllis Ring, author of several works, including a collection of
essays, Life at First Sight: Finding the Divine in the Details, also writes
fiction. She has worked as an editor, as instructor for the Long Ridge Writers
Group, and facilitates workshops for soulful writers and investigating
souls. For retreat information please visit: www.phyllisring.com
Don't forget, if you need expert help, if you want a critique partner, if you're a publisher and you need submissions for your new contest, this is the place for your free ad! And for heaven’s sake self promote your book here! What are you waiting for , people?
Send your want ad to me at: MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com and I'll post it here. Don't forget to include contact information so that people can reach you with their responses.
It was the best of sentences, it was the
worst of sentences
Subtitle: a writer's guide to crafting killer sentences
By June Casagrande
Ten Speed Press (2010)
ISBN: 9781580087407
Grammar Guru Offers Advice
Like None You've Ever Seen-All in One Place!
Reviewed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, award-winning author of This Is
the Place and Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered,
Tracings, a chapbook of poetry and the How To Do It Frugally Series
of book for authors
Rules. Rules. Rules. I didn't realize how tired I was of the same old writing
advice until this little black book landed in my mailbox. I promised to review
it fast, but this It was the best of sentences, it was the worst of sentences
book by June Casagrande isn't a book a serious writer wants to flip
though fast.
I could see from the subhead in the first chapter that "best of sentences"
would include something better than most. It read, "Thy Reader, Thy
God." What a concept that is! The Reader and not The Rule Book! Ahem!
And it got better and better as Casagrande explored all the
subjects I knew everything about. Or thought I did. She uses
examples so a writer can see the differences between OK writing and
acrylic-clear writing. By the time I got to "Are Your
Relatives Essential?" I was really sold. This is a Wow-Chapter,
even for accomplished editors. The writing tips she gives in Chapter
Twelve for using tenses effectively are just what I need to convince my
students that I'm not the only editor/teacher in the world who believes
that tenses needn't match all the way through a story (or even a paragraph,
for that matter!). That chapter is called "You Will Have Been Conjugating."
I could go on and on, chapter by chapter. What
isn't new to a writer or what doesn't elucidate will remind and
amuse Casagrande's God, The Reader. For those who know Casagrande's
work, this book isn't as funny as her first one, Grammar Snobs Are Great
Big Meanies Nevertheless, the reader will still occasionally get a
good laugh. For chuckles read Chapter Nine, "Antique Desk
Suitable for Lady with Thick Legs and Large Drawers." For
Casagrande, the lesson is always that grammar needn't be dreary. Why
should it be when we love writing? How could it be when grammar is the
nails and tacks, the color and structure of what we love? Writing.
Thank you so much, Carolyn! Sounds as if this one belongs next to Eats, Shoots, and Leaves, the only best-seller grammar book I know of. Great review!
Send those reviews to me at: MaryRosenblum@forums.longridgewritersgroup.com
Some people are getting emails to me at this address bounced back. I’m not sure
why it’s happening – it’s only afflicting a handful of people. But if yours
comes back, you can also email me at; LongRidgeWebEditor@LongRidgeWritersGroup.com
And are you self published? Review your own book here. Why not? Make us want to buy it, it’s hard to get PR when you self publish! Include a link, too.
To receive all the issues of the Long Ridge E-NEWS plus short updates and reminders simply click here and subscribe: http://www.longridgewritersgroup.com/rx/email_updates.shtml! It's free and easy. Surely, you don't want to miss a thing.
For help in using the CHAT ROOM, you can check out the several articles we have that will help you if you click here If you're still stumped, you can use the Help Desk http://www.longridgewritersgroup.com/rx/Chat_Help_Desk.shtml for a direct connection to our technician, Frank Ball, for help with your particular computer system.
If you need help with the Post-A-Note, check out the nuts and bolts help article at http://www.longridgewritersgroup.com/rx/st01/ichat_post_a_note.shtml" for some great information on how to use the Post-A-Note and visit with other writers on the website.
Return to Top
|
|
91 Long Ridge Road, West Redding, CT 06896 |
Return to Newsletter
Home | Writing Course |
Short Story | Full Story | Writing Test
Send Me Full Info | Enroll | Our Instructors | Our Credentials
| Sample
Lesson
College Credits | Tax Deductibility | From Overseas
| Writer's
Bookstore
Free
Writer's News | Life Support for Writers | Chat
Room | Live Forum | Writing
Craft
Calendar of Events | Professional
Connection | Transcripts
| Post a Note | Surviving & Thriving
Student Center | Privacy
Policy | Web Editor | Comments | Writing for Children
|
|
LongRidge Writers Group |
Copyright © Writer's Institute, Inc., 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005,
2006
No part of the electronic transmission to which this notice is appended may be
reproduced or redistributed in any form or manner without the express written
permission of Writer's Institute, Inc.
